Boys' cross country: Runners prepare for CCS as season winds down

As the season nears its end and CCS looms on the horizon, the Falcons continue to post successful results, but they have also been consistently hampered by setbacks. Lacking any real veteran leadership, the team has had to rely upon its youth to overcome the rigors of a demanding season.

The team competed in the Crystal Springs Meet on Oct. 22. Junior Kyle Fukui placed first among Saratoga boys with a time of 17:17 over 2.95 miles closely followed by fellow junior Garrick Chan, who finished in 17:31 and posted a personal best 30-second time. Freshman David Zarrin was the third Saratoga competitor to cross the finish line at 18:45.

The team was pleased with their overall performance but still feels that there is room for improvement.

"The conditions were good, but I didn't do well as I wanted to because my quads were dead from the start," said Chan. Chan hopes to continue training and build off his finish in upcoming meets.

According to Fukui, the team as a whole didn't meet its goals at Crystal Springs.

"It's disappointing that we didn't reach our goals, but as we begin tapering for the end of the season, I expect that our times will improve," said Fukui.

The team suffered another blow when sophomore Lawrence Liang was out with a back injury.

"It's hard to have [Liang] injured," said Fukui. "I hope he'll be able to race at the end of the season."

One of the bright spots of the team so far this season is that underclassmen have stepped up in the absence of senior talent. While Chan and Fukui have led the team throughout the season, Zarrin along with sophomore Eren Veziroglu are continuing to step up and present glimpses of real talent.

"[Zarrin] and [Veziroglu] are really improving," said Chan. "They continue to make significant strides."

The team competed in the Lynbrook meet on Oct. 29 and the DAL meet on Nov. 3 but results could not be included due to publication deadlines. The team is currently training for the upcoming CCS meet where they expect individuals such as Chan and Fukui to have success and possibly qualify to states.